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“Oh… there are a lot of people here. Are you okay, Iris?”
“I guess… sort of…”

The diner, which usually only had us and the occasional villager coming in for a meal, was now packed with a large crowd… specifically, men exuding a menacing aura that made it clear at a glance they were in combat-related professions. I’d felt my blood run cold ever since I walked in. Apparently, they were mercenaries who came as escorts for a merchant caravan; due to the large group, they had given up their inn rooms to the merchants and were voluntarily pitching tents outside to sleep…

By the way, Sol-niisama was still hung up on what happened the other day and was silently following behind us. I thought I might get an earful since we’d woken up in the same bunk that morning, but Rage-san seemed to sense the situation and just patted my head a few times… I guess that was his way of praising me.

We managed to find a spot for the three of us in a corner of the dining hall, sat down a little way away from the crowd, and ordered our meals. However, with the cafeteria packed with people, the occasional glances our way, and the rough-sounding voices, I couldn’t help but be reminded of “that time.” I couldn’t even swallow the soup; I’d only taken a few sips and had been stirring it around in my bowl ever since.

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“Man, just when I thought we’d finally made it to town and could rest, now we’ve got to go hunt goblins? Which f̲u̲c̲k̲e̲r̲s̲ is it who can’t even take care of mere goblins?”

At the overly dramatic, loud voice, the two of them flinched, and their hands stopped moving for a moment. When they timidly turned their gaze toward the source of the voice, they saw several men grinning at them. A chill ran down my spine. Those stares looked just like those guys from back then…

“…It’s not them. Forget it.”
“…Yes.”

The warmth of Rage-san’s hand gently resting on mine, along with his whisper, brought my spiraling thoughts back to normal. That’s right, it was all over now. I saw it all through to the very end myself.

I heard a grating, vulgar laugh—“Gyahaha!”—but I ignored it.

Perhaps annoyed by the sight of us, a man strode over and abruptly yanked my hood off.

“……”

My breath caught in my throat as my face was exposed by the displaced hood. The jeering voices around me made me want to cry, but I held it in. A menacing aura rose from Rage-san and Sol-niisama, but I signaled with my eyes that everything was fine. I had no intention of causing a disturbance in the shop and inconveniencing others; if I just ignored him for a while and let it blow over…

“Whoa, I was wondering why we’d end up in this godforsaken backwater, but there’s a pretty cute girl here after all. Well, maybe you’re a little childish, though.”

That was one comment too many. Did he really think any girl would fall for that kind of attitude? No, he probably never had any intention of getting consent in the first place.

“I heard you’re a skilled healer too? Hey, I dunno about this whole unknown s̲h̲i̲t̲ these two supposedly defeated, but they’re all bark no bites. Why don’t you ditch these spineless punks and come join us? We’ll show you a good time, in more ways than one, eh?”

Hearing the man blabber on with his self-righteous nonsense, I felt a sudden, sharp irritation—so intense it surprised even me. My body trembled with a feeling quite different from fear, and the spoon I’d been pointlessly stirring my soup with clattered against the bowl.

“…Please take that back.”
“Ah?”

Before I knew it, even though I’d just stopped those two moments ago, I found myself voicing a protest. I could sense the panic radiating from the two beside me, but my mouth, which had apparently been building up a lot of stress throughout the whole ordeal, couldn’t be stopped once I’d started speaking.

“…P-…Please take back what you just said…!!”

My condition may have improved somewhat, but I hadn’t overcome it. With him glaring down at me right in front of my eyes, I was shaking so hard I felt like I was about to collapse to my knees. But… my emotions were running high, and tears welled up from anger rather than fear.
Unforgivable… These two had fought for me despite the wounds in their hearts. The sight of Ayame last night, shaking and in tears because of that. Now that I knew that, I couldn’t stand when people like him exploited it, even more so when they were doing it simply to belittle them!!

“…They never failed to help me, no matter what! Someone as base and depraved as you have no right to slander them!!”
“…This… b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!”

I said it. The enraged man grabbed me by the collar, lifting me off the ground. As fear took hold of my entire body in an instant, the sensation below my waist faded away—a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time. I reflexively wrapped my arms around my head to shield it from the man’s raised fist, closing my eyes tightly in preparation for the impending blow…

Five seconds… ten seconds… but the blow never came. When I tentatively opened my eyes, I saw that the man’s raised hand had, at some point, been pinned behind his back by Sol-niisama. He didn’t seem to be applying much force, yet his hand didn’t budge an inch; only the man’s voice—shouting, “Damn it, let go!”—echoed through the cafeteria.
While all this was happening, my body was effortlessly reclaimed by Rage-san’s hand, and as I was enveloped by his massive frame, a sense of relief finally washed over me, and with it, the tremors born of fear.

“…I don’t mind any of your slander. What you said is mostly true, and I will accept it without much say. Go ahead and run your mouth, whenever you want.”

Saying that, he swapped places with the man, turning his back to me. The very next moment, with a thunderous *thud!*, the man’s body was slammed onto the table. Nii-sama waited for the man—who was coughing violently, forced to expel all the air from his lungs in an instant—to settle down before continuing.

“But I will absolutely not tolerate anyone harming Iris.”

I couldn’t see Sol-niisama’s expression from where I stood, but at the sound of that low voice, sounding almost too calm, the man, his face deathly pale, began to nod frantically.

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“Whoa, what’s all this commotion?”
“B-boss!?”

Amid the chaos, and a tense atmosphere where some were already reaching for their weapons, a figure entered the shop with an air of calm that bordered on nonchalance. With his dark brown hair slicked back and a muscular, well-defined body covered in countless scars, this figure exuded an aura of dominance that made him instantly recognizable as a seasoned veteran. Rage-san murmured so softly, just loud enough for me, held in his arms, to hear; “That guy’s pretty skilled…” so he must be quite something.

For a split second, his gaze lingered on me held in Rage-san’s arms—and I flinched. However, contrary to his intimidating appearance, his eyes held an intelligent gleam, and when he flashed me a rugged yet somehow affable grin, my wariness gradually melted away… He was undeniably a big, tough-looking man, but he had a strangely reassuring aura about him.

After observing my reaction, the man resumed his stern expression and glared at the mercenaries around him.

“By the gods… Hey, newbies, I hope you aren’t seriously thinking of laying a hand on that innocent girl over there, are you…?”
“W-well, we were just trying to scare her a little…”

The men stammered as they tried to explain themselves, but since the situation was obvious to anyone who saw it, their voices came out weak and feeble.

“Haaaaaaah…”

He let out a deep, very deep sigh. Even here in the safety of Rage-san’s arms, even though his anger wasn’t directed at me, his eyes still held a chill that seeped right to the bone.

“…Listen up. For us mercenaries, our reputation is everything. Especially for newbies like you guys—if bad rumors get out, we’ll lose our livelihood… Got it? Then apologize to them right this second, you brainless lots!!”
“Eek!? We’re so sorry!!”
“It was just a bit of mischief! Okay!”

At his sharp rebuke, everyone in the room turned pale and bowed their heads so low they looked as if they were about to prostrate themselves on the floor. We (along with the staff who had taken refuge in the kitchen) could only stare in astonishment as they quickly cleared up the mess in the store.

“Oh dear… I’m truly sorry about our youngsters. Is anyone hurt? Please give me your hand.”
“Huh? Oh, sure… Eeh!?”

A gentle-looking young man with blue hair, who had appeared beside me without my noticing, casually held out his hand. He extended it so naturally that I instinctively took it—and before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and gently lifted me onto a chair.

“……Well, well, to think I’d have the pleasure of meeting such a lovely princess. If possible, should danger ever threaten you in the future, I would be honored to save you with my own hands as your knight.”

Whispered in a tone that sounded somewhat theatrical, he brought his lips close to the back of my hand with a mannerism that seemed a bit affected, the sort I’d seen in movies, and then pulled away as if it were the most natural thing in the world…… Oh, so he doesn’t actually put his mouth directly on my hand, huh? Unable to process this event, which was far beyond my brain’s capacity, I just stared blankly at the scene.

“……?”

Was it just my imagination? As he began to lift his face and look directly at me, I felt as though his eyes, wide open, were showing a hint, just the slightest hint, of astonishment.

“……My apologies. You’re so lovely I couldn’t help but stare.”
“……Huh? Ah, yes……?”

My brain still couldn’t keep up, and I sat there dumbfounded.

“…You, dumb, Aniki! You’re hitting on a girl again?!! I told you that’s rude!!”
“Dwagh?!”

Suddenly, a lively-looking girl with the same blue hair tied in a ponytail appeared from behind and knocked him down, sending him crawling on the floor… Is he alright? It looked like he was hit with a sword sheath.

“Geez, knight my foot, that’s ancient history… Oh, are you okay? Did he do anything weird to you?”

While I was still in a daze, the girl swirled around me like a whirlwind, patting me all over to check for injuries, fixing my messy hair and collar, and before I knew it, she’d put my hood back on and had me sitting there demurely.

…What should I do? Was I just being hit on? My brain, which had finally started working again, finally processed the sequence of events from a moment ago—or rather, the meaning behind those words—and the blood rushed to my face. Realizing I must be bright red, I instinctively lowered my head. Even now, the way he’d treated me like a princess a moment ago felt incredibly embarrassing, and I couldn’t bring myself to look up.

“Ouch… that’s harsh. I was just saying my greetings.”
“Aniki, your version of greetings, especially towards girls, is just a tiiiiny bit off from common sense! You’ve caused problems before by making girls misunderstand you like that—haven’t you learned your lesson!?”

…Wait, I didn’t even have a chance to say anything here? For some reason, I found myself cradled in that woman’s arms, and as she stroked my head through my hood, the chaotic scene unfolding around us left Rage-san, still sitting on the ground from when he held me, staring blankly. While Sol-niisama, whose grapple victim had been pried away from him, was also completely deflated and dumbfounded.

“Er, sorry we’re being rowdy. It seems our overconfident new recruit caused some trouble, so as the commander of the Cercueil mercenary group, please allow me to apologize… I’m sorry!”

The burly man bowed his head vigorously. It probably wasn’t just my imagination that the wind made his bangs flutter slightly. …“Cercueil”—what a strange name for a mercenary group. Doesn’t it sound a bit unlucky?

“No… I’m the one who should be apologizing. I took the bait and made the commotion worse… I’m sorry.”

Still seated, I returned his apology. Nii-sama bowed his head beside me, and the commander, wringing his hands over the bill for the shop repairs, agreed to let the matter drop.

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—And that was how we first met.

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Once again, our meal was served… This time, the mercenary leader was treating us. He offered it as an apology over the trouble his men had caused, so I tried to decline, but he insisted he wouldn’t feel right unless I accepted, so I gratefully accepted his generosity.
And so, with our meal before us, we were just about to introduce ourselves again.

“Well then. I’m Walter, the commander. These are the first and second squad leaders, respectively.”
“Greetings, my name is Zeltis. I apologize for our rudeness earlier.”
“I’m Phirias—nice to meet you!”

The two with the same hair color introduced themselves one after the other… Their strikingly similar features and the fact that they looked to be about the same age made me ask a question without thinking.

“Um… are you two twins?”
“Yep! You and that handsome guy over there are siblings too, right? Since we both have older brothers, let’s talk about all that later!”
“Sorry about my rowdy little sister…”
“Hmph! If anything, it’s you who’s too laidback, Aniki!”

The older brother, with a gentle, slightly exasperated expression, tried to scold her, but his younger sister snapped back at him. That exchange reminded me of us back then—me and Ayame—and I found myself watching them with the kind of gaze one reserves for something heartwarming.

By the time we’d finished introducing ourselves as well…

“So… we’ve been hired to take down the group of goblins that’s been spotted around this town lately.”

At those words, though they didn’t show it in their demeanor, I sensed a hint of disappointment from both Rage-san and Sol-niisama. They probably wanted to redeem themselves after what happened the other day, but since the job had been handed over to professionals like them, I figured there was nothing left for us to do.

“What do you think? Would you two like to help out?”
“Us…?”

Rage-san’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s right… Based on our reconnaissance, we’ve discovered that this group is actually much larger than we’d imagined. Also, a large goblin colony has been discovered in the town just ahead of us, and it’s currently causing problems. I’m concerned that this group might have come from there… or that a ‘Commander’ might be leading an expedition here.”

It’s known that as these groups grow larger, a leader emerges from within them, enabling the group to act in even greater numbers and with coordinated movements. Given the scale of this report, there might be multiple leaders, or perhaps…

“In any case, we can’t rule out the possibility that this is beyond our capabilities. That’s why I’d like to ask for your help.”
“But we…”

Sol-niisama stammered, seemingly reluctant to speak. He hadn’t fully recovered from yesterday’s events yet, and his eyes wavered with uncertainty… But we couldn’t just stay like this…

“I’ve heard about the failure. Well, that’s common among new conscripts.”

He told us as if it were nothing to worry about, that we could learn from our mistakes and use them to our advantage next time. His eyes seemed to say, “Do you want a chance to redeem yourself?” Sol-niisama, Rage-san, and I nodded at that.

“…In that case, we’d like to accept the offer too. Thank you for your consideration.”
“Hmm, did I do something that deserves a thank-you? I’m completely clueless.”

Seeing him shrug his shoulders playfully, a soft chuckle escaped my lips. He caught it with his keen ears and gave me a quick wink… He looked so natural, just like a movie star or something—this older gentleman might actually be kind of cool. The “me 僕” inside me muttered, “I used to want to become a grown man like this someday,” and I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile… Well, objectively speaking, that was probably impossible, wasn’t it?

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“…We’re leaving at 11 today. Since they’re nocturnal and most active from evening until early morning, they tend to be less active after that. As for the squads, well, let’s just keep them as usual. When we head out, we’ll leave someone behind to handle communications, so just give them a quick heads-up.”
“See you later, then.”
“Bye-bye! Oh, Iris-chan, let’s take a bath together when we’re done!”

After exchanging their farewells, they stormed out of the shop like a whirlwind.

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…At first, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but those three, who were apparently the upper brass of the mercenaries, turned out to be very friendly people, and I let out a sigh of relief that everything worked out.

“Hey, Sol.”
“Yeah, I know… They’re pretty good.”

…But I tilted my head, puzzled by the two of them looking so somber. Noticing my gaze, Rage-san picked up where I left off.

“It’s a world of difference from those former mercenaries. I didn’t even hear his footsteps until he was right up close.”

It hit me. That’s right. From my perspective, that guy… Zeltis-san—it seemed like he’d suddenly appeared right beside me. So much so that he’d snatched me from Rage-san’s arms and taken my hand to seat me in a chair before Rage-san even had a chance to be on guard.

“…Aagh, I can’t stand a pretentious jerk like that…!!”

For some reason, Rage-san had been in a bad mood for a while now. He kept glaring at Zeltis-san with a resentful look every now and then…

“It’s surprising to see you being so jealous, Rage, but it’s also kind of sad that you don’t even realize it…”
“…?”

Shrugging his shoulders as if to say, “Oh well,” Sol-niisama looked at me with an expression as if I were a pitiful creature, leaving me with nothing but a question mark floating above my head.

“Anyway… Rage, are you confident you can win if it comes down to a fight?”
“Nah… honestly, I have no idea. Especially that old guy Walter, I’m not too confident if I were up against him.”

To me, he seemed like a nice, easygoing older gentleman, but apparently, to the two of them who wield swords, he came across as something completely different. I’m not entirely sure about Phirias-san, but all three of them were likely skilled enough to make those two say such things. I felt a sense of awe at just how formidable the inhabitants of this world are.

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“So, now that you’ve faced those boys, what do you think?”

The person I was talking to was one of the hangers-on of that rough-looking guy who was picking a fight with those kids earlier. He’d now taken off his disguise and looked like a dull, young merchant’s errand boy. We don’t trust a new recruit just because he’s survived his first battle—the initiation trials are still ongoing… Well, that’s the gist of it.

“They’re out of the question. I don’t know what exactly they did, but while their abilities seem absolutely insane, they’re total softies on the inside. Relying on them on the battlefield would be a disaster.”

The man shrugged with an “Oh, well” sort of air, but the next moment his expression turned serious.

“…That’s what I thought at first, anyway.”
“Oh? And now?”
“I definitely don’t want to go up against them. Especially that silver-haired guy. Even if he’s a wimp right now, he’s the type who’ll ‘go to any lengths’ for what’s important to him. I couldn’t stop breaking out in a cold sweat, thinking I was about to get killed at any moment.”
“…All right. If I hadn’t heard that answer, I would’ve fired you as an auditor, but I’ll let it slide this time.”
“…Phew… I’m saved.”

After watching the man leave the room, I let out a sigh of relief. What came to mind were the youngsters from earlier… especially the one at their center, that young girl… no.

“So that’s the ‘Jewel Princess of the North’… She’s quite different from what I’d heard. Rumor had it she was a doll-like princess who never so much as flinched, no matter the situation, but well…”

The first time that name came up was at the start of a scandal: a village girl living quietly in the territory of a Knight-Count on the frontier had caught the lord’s eye and been forcibly taken into his service. It began with a plea for help from a young man claiming to be her brother. After many twists and turns, it was revealed that the girl was, of all people, a blood relative of the missing former king’s—who was himself missing—sister. The sudden scandal sent the realm into an uproar… Furthermore, the identity of her father was confirmed through testing, but this was kept secret by those involved, as it threatened to become an even bigger scandal… The fiefdom underwent a forced change of lord at the government’s behest, and it was placed under the care of her nephew, who had helped rescue the girl; however, the girl’s whereabouts remained unclear after she was subsequently taken into the government’s custody.
And it was said that even during this upheaval, the girl remained utterly blank, barely changing her expression, simply drifting along with the flow of events. Just like a living doll devoid of emotion.

I pictured in my mind a gentle girl whose expression changed constantly. Though somewhat shy, her demeanor was typical of a girl her age—she certainly didn’t look like the kind of person who would be described as “doll-like.”

And there was something else that was strange. Her appearance was identical to the portrait painted at the time… the portrait from seven years ago… except that the wings on her back—the mark of the Celestials—had vanished.

“Right when I thought I finally received a letter from you… So you want me to keep an eye on her, eh? Hey, what are you planning to make me do, Aureolius?”

Fanning the crude letter—nothing more than a single sheet of paper folded in half—I muttered to no one in particular.